Bufflehead

My doctor isn't against grains for anyone at any time, but our plan does call for NO grains, starchy veg, or refined sugar until you reach your goal weight. I'm sticking to it. I want to maximize weight loss and protein intake, and grain-based foods just don't have the nutrition I need right now.

A stall between weeks 2 and 4 is completely normal and common. Search the forums for "three week stall" if you want to see that just about everyone suffers along with you. Just keep following your program and the weight loss will pick up again.

When I see an obese person who looks sad I really wish that they could do what I did. Some people just don't have enough information about surgery to really consider it, and some people don't have insurance coverage or money for it if they did know about it. Some people are scared. Some people may just be happy the way they are. But I do think there are a lot of people out there who could benefit from weight loss surgery if they had knowledge about it and a way to get it. It makes me sad that they don't. When people ask me how I am losing weight, I've been almost always telling them about surgery just to try to spread the word about it. Even if the person asking me doesn't need surgery, they might know someone who does.

Okay, here is the mediocre picture of the lemon Protein pudding I made: To give you an idea of portion size, that is a regular size teaspoon and a small dessert ramekin sitting on a saucer. I made a half-box of pudding with one cup of milk, and then turned that recipe into three servings. Here are my ingredients and the final numbers: 1/2 box sugar free, fat free lemon pudding mix 1 cup (240 ml) Carbmaster vanilla Reduced Sugar Milk 2 scoops* Syntrax nectar Medical Unflavored Protein 1/4 t. lemon extract** 1 dollop fat free Redi Whip Final numbers per serving: 62 calories, 10 g. protein, 4 g. carb, 0 g. fat. *Syntrax Nectar Unflavored protein comes in very small scoops! 2 scoops = 80 calories, 20 gr. protein, 0 gr. carbs. **I put in the lemon extract because I love lemon flavoring, but if you do, be warned that the pudding will set a bit softer than normal. If you like super firm pudding, don't add alcohol-based extracts. This was super yummy! I have lots of flavors of pudding mix on hand and will definitely be adding this to my repertoire. Thanks!

How many calories a day are you eating? What does a typical day's menu look like?

Pretty sure that's just a standard disclaimer. Many protein powders have that language in the fine print. Since the macros meet your needs, I wouldn't worry about it, but you could run it by your dietician or nutritionist just to get a second opinion.

Two suggestions from me: first, give up mindless snacking. Allow yourself two or three small snacks per day, planned and measured in advance, and that's it. Second, eat mindfully. That means you eat at a table (not in your car, not on a sofa, not in bed, etc.) and without a screen in front of you -- no tv, no computer, no picking up the phone during a meal (or snack, snacks get eaten mindfully too). I agree with Miss Mac, it's a good idea to start logging all your food on MFP or a similar app. There are studies out there that show that people who log their food intake lose twice as much as those who don't. And I've been hanging around this forum a long time and have seen a lot of "help, I've fallen off the wagon and am gaining weight!" and "I can't seem to lose these last thirty pounds!" type posts and rarely if ever is the poster someone who is faithfully logging their food intake. So I am a big advocate of just making that a habit and getting used to it for the long haul.

minimum 75 g protein.

It usually means something like they only pay for one bariatric surgery in your lifetime, or there is a separate dollar max, something like that. But only they can tell you for sure. I would try calling them rather than emailing, I find my insurance responds super slowly (if ever) to email. Good luck!

If you want to track your food on MFP but hate seeing that little red warning about being in starvation mode, just never click the complete button. That warning bugs me too. There ought to be a way to dismiss it so you only see it once. Hey MFP I am following the guidance of health care professionals who actually know me, not the instructions of a faceless computer server somewhere! STFU!

Lol, I'll be happy to take a picture but I have to warn you, I am the world's worst photographer! Probably middle of the week before I can do it though.

Ooh, I like the looks of this! I think I am going to try it with lemon pudding. Lemon is my favorite flavor and I've been missing it a lot since surgery. Thanks!

I think they determine whether you can post on the "veteran" forum by how many posts you have here. Once it let me post there (it was accidental on my part, didn't realize where I was) although I am not a surgery vet, just because I am a blabbermouth and have so many posts here that the site rules assume I am a vet!

I like my protein shakes. I wouldn't drink or eat anything I thought tasted awful. My favorites now are: Chike High Protein Iced Coffee, Unjury Chocolate Splendor, Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard Vanilla Ice Cream, Syntrax Matrix Bananas & Cream, Strawberries & Cream, Orange Cream, & Peanut Butter Cookie. I also like the Healthwise Hot Chocolate. When I was immediately post-op I drank a lot of the Syntrax Nectar flavors (mix with water) such as Roadside Lemonade, Lemon Iced Tea, Twisted Cherry, and Fuzzy Navel. I also did a lot of the Unjury Chicken Soup. A lot depends on what you mix the powder with - I like Hood Calorie Countdown milk and Carbmaster Vanilla milk. And I doctor up my shakes with add-ins such as the Torani sugar free syrups, PB2, frozen berries, and instant espresso. Just one example - yesterday afternoon I made Healthwise hot chocolate with vanilla milk (hot), a shot of sugarfree peppermint syrup, and a spoonful of instant espresso - for a protein peppermint mocha. It was delicious and came out with 140 calories, 6 carbs, and 26 g. protein. Check out the thread with protein shake recipes, there are some good ideas in there!

My pain wasn't bad at all. When they asked me after surgery to rate it on a scale of 1 - 10 I think I said a 4. I was never offered morphine and would have refused it if offered. I did take liquid lortab the first day, then I took it at night for about a week, because otherwise there was just enough pain (especially when lying down) to make sleep difficult. Initially after my surgery most of my pain was from the gas. After I got rid of that (maybe 12 - 18 hours) my only lingering pain was from my drain site, where a nurse had jabbed a nerve while manipulating the tubing. Other than that, I didn't have incisional pain or general stomach or abdominal pain.

Find someone new! Just to give you perspective (if you need any, you probably don't) my weight loss was about the same as yours six weeks out and my dietician* told me I was doing great and should be proud of myself! Your surgeon needs to go eff himself! *In my surgeon's office, the staff dieticians handle the nutritional aspects of follow up care. She is an expert in working with bariatric surgery patients, not some uneducated yahoo from off the street.

When you aren't walking, sit in a rocker or glider chair. Lean forward with your arms crossed across your belly and rock/glide. This kind of motion is really good for getting gas moving and out. If your room doesn't have a rocker or glider, ask your hospital if they have one they can move in.

This probably isn't the response you are looking for, or the person who is qualified to give it. I haven't even technically had my six month surgiversary yet, although I did have my six month follow up yesterday. I was nervous about giving up certain foods "forever" before surgery because frankly, they were one of the main sources of pleasure and comfort in my life. So I know where you are coming from. pizza, eh, not so much, I was never a pizza fanatic. But big slices of lovely toasted artisan bread slathered in butter? I could go through half a loaf in a single afternoon, easy. Anyway, here's the deal for me. I've lost 134 pounds since my first visit with my surgeon. I've still got a ways to go (50 more pounds? Don't have an exact goal weight yet, I'm thinking of a clothing size and body fat percentage). I haven't had anything made with any kind of grain, any starchy veggie, or anything with refined sugar since my surgery. And I don't care. It doesn't bother me. I don't feel deprived. Sure, sometimes I see something yummy like those boxes of Trader Joe's pumpkin spice toaster pastries or the Peanut Butter Cookies from my neighborhood bakery and I want them - but I don't seriously consider actually eating them. The only thing that matters to me is getting to goal. When I get there, then I'll worry about whether I can have a piece of toast again. I may not be able to, whether because it's physically uncomfortable, or maybe it leads me to a bad path of eating horribly and not being able to maintain my weight. I'm not at goal yet so I can't say for sure, but I think I am going to be okay with that. There are plenty of other foods that I enjoy eating and can take pleasure in and that are sleeve and health-friendly, so I am not "depriving" myself of the joys of eating - I am abstaining from the things that got me to a 60 BMI and in need of surgery.* I would encourage people going in to surgery to train yourself, as much as possible, to have the questions in your mind about the future be things like "what are the strategies I can use to most carefully follow my surgeon's dietary plans?" and "how can I most quickly and safely get to my goal weight/size/body fat percentage?" instead of "when can I eat pizza/rice/cookie again?" or "will I be able to eat a half a loaf of toasted bread slathered with butter again?" Do your best to focus on the health challenges in front of you rather than the unhealthy foods you may be leaving in your past, at least for a long period of time if not forever. I know that's easier said than done! As I said, I have been there and completely understand what you are going through and the mourning process that goes along with the thought of losing that source of comfort and pleasure. It got a lot easier for me when I saw the pounds coming off, the sizes dropping - that became a big source of comfort and pleasure as well. Good luck! *thanks to Nikke and the other posters at the OH sleeve board for the discussion about the language of deprivation - it helped me a lot!

I add the liquid from coffee to my liquid totals. As the stories in the links I posted pointed out, coffee will not harm your hydration levels -- it will help them. So there is no reason not to count it - the reason I keep track of "water" intake is to make sure I stay hydrated. Coffee will help me stay hydrated. If I ate a spoonful of coffee grounds and then immediately followed it by drinking a cup of Water, I would count the water. So why would I not count them just because I mixed them together, then drank the water?

SouthernSleever, I was sleeved by Dr. Boyce's associate Dr. Williams this past summer. The office staff is great -- the insurance coordinator really knows her stuff and stays on top of things. The dieticians are also great and will give an extremely thorough (and strict) plan for post-surgery eating and exercise. Your friend will have to do either a 2 or 4 week pre-op diet, depending on BMI. They require that you use foods purchased from their office. Honestly, some of the food was so bad I couldn't eat it and substituted other stuff with a similar nutritional profile. The stuff they sold that I found good/tolerable: protein chips, hot chocolate, protein bars, cold cereal, soups. The truly horrible stuff: pasta dishes, cookies, hot cereal, shakes. They will also want your friend to buy their special vitamins - I found them nasty and gritty and bought Wellesse liquid vitamins for the first four weeks post-surgery and took those instead of the powder vitamins that the office sells. The care at Tennova Turkey Creek is top notch - everyone gets a large private room and lots of attention from the nurses. Let me know if you have any more specific questions

@tmbundy1963, My surgeon sells the protein hot chocolate from his office - you might check with your surgeon or any other local bariatric surgeons.

I haven't heard of that specifically, but I think it really depends on what your insurance requires as the result of your six month supervised diet. Some insurance requires that you lose a certain percentage of your body weight, some that you at least don't gain any weight, others (like mine) require that you fail at dieting and don't lose a specified percentage of your body weight. Check your plan documents to see what they say. If it just says that you have to do the supervised diet but doesn't say anything about outcome, my guess is that they shouldn't deny you based on the outcome -- as long as you followed their rules about specified numbers of meetings with the doctor or nutritionist, etc.